Spring Break + Avocado Cream Pie

March 12th – March 16th, Spring Break 2012. Now, you may think this will be another post about a week on the beach in Galveston…but you’d only be partially correct! This year, the stars aligned, and all of my family had time off at the same time. This seems easy to accomplish, but with my brother and his wife in their medical fellowships, they basically never have time off. So we decided: Family Vacation!!

The fam minus dad, on a hot air ballon ride

We packed our bags, including little Krinkle, left behind Jacques in the care of our awesome neighbor, and trekked over to San Diego! We spent 3 lovely days in a beach house, over looking the ocean, with a jacuzzi, and a grill! FYI, when vegetarians see a grill, we go CRAZY. I mean…crazy. I think it’s the need to break the stereotype that vegetarians don’t grill (we, my family, don’t). So we immediately began thinking of stuff we could grill! (Shish-kebab Tofu anyone?) Actually, it was pretty amazing, we grilled asparagus, avocado, tomatoes, onions…well, I digress.

Grilled Asparagus!!

More grilling!

Anyways, the last day of spring break is today. Last year, I went to Galveston with my BFF Sam and my not so hubby at the time, Tyler. This year, San Diego. I was very thankful to be able to spend time with my whole family. It’s a completely different dynamic when everyone is there:

Sonali and I putzing around with food, and getting excited! Getting lost in a grocery shop…Mom, me, Sonali, and Tyler going on a hot air balloon ride(!!)Bhai, my father, and Tyler riding around on segways on the beach!My mom and I reading on beach chairs over looking the ocean…All of us in the jacuzzi, complaining how overly hot it is (it was turned up to max)Grilling anything and everything we could get our hands onPlaying monopoly and me, as usual, getting overly competitive Watching True Lies and reciting almost every line

The view!!

The hot air balloon

Me and the ocean!

There are so many memories…and it just reminded me how thankful I am to be able to go back to Boston in a few months and have part of my family near by. One of the hardest things about living in Texas, or really any state besides California, Massachusetts, or Arizona, is that I don’t have family nearby. I never really realized that until I moved to Texas, and it made me even more thankful that I had Tyler with me. Someone who knew me inside out, and loved me. Anyways, I know that in medical school I won’t have a ton of time to spend with them, and most of my “free”time will be spent with Tyler or with myself, knowing that they are there, being able to see them once or twice a month, will make me incredibly happy.

So! To commemorate spring break this year, I decided to try out a recipe of my own…Avocado Cream Pie…and boy was it good. With avocado season in full swing, I figured it would be a good idea. The crust is a take on the vanilla-scented crust, with whole wheat. The filling is made with avocado, greek yogurt, and cream cheese. The whole sha-bang is smooth, creamy, pretty, and with a subtle avocado flavor. I loved the color too, light green. It’s a great introduction to spring. Be adventurous…try it!

Preheat oven to 350FIn a bowl, mix together butter, powdered sugar, and salt. Then mix in the vanilla and the flour. With a rubber spatula, mix the dough together. Press it into a tart pan or a spring form pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Pull it out and let it cool

In a stand mixer, blend together avocado and cream cheese until smooth.

Add in the sugar, and make sure it’s well mixed. Add in the greek yogurt, mix in well.

Then add in the eggs one by one, making sure to mix well after each addition. Pour the filling into the cooled crust. Make sure it’s cooled, otherwise the eggs will cook as soon as it hits the tart crust, and you’ll have a scrambled eggs in your pie…bleh. Bake the pie at 250F for 20-25 minutes, or until the pie is still jiggly, but more firm than liquid. Let it cool, and serve it with an avocado slice as a garnish!